
- Table
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Table
- Place of origin:
Iznik (made)
Istanbul (made) - Date:
ca. 1560 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Wood, inlaid with ebony and mother of pearl; with fritware ceramic top, painted under the glaze
- Museum number:
C.19-1987
- Gallery location:
Islamic Middle East, Room 42, The Jameel Gallery, case 7
This type of wooden table with a ceramic tile top held trays of food and drink. It would have used in an Ottoman palace, set before guests who sat on a low bench, or divan, built against the walls.
Many large polygonal tiles survive from the Ottoman period, but this example is one of the very few that still serves its original purpose as a table top. It was made in Iznik, north-west Anatolia, which was known as a centre of ceramic production.